I have been using SFML for a project for a almost a month now and I have to say that it is probably the best thing I've ever worked with!

Its a very fast and efficient engine that handles a lot of the tedious tasks like loading and rendering objects as well as handling sounds. It also is platform independent so it compiles to run on windows/linux/mac etc.

If any of you are familiar with SDL, this is its newer, sexier and faster running cousin. Its also all c++ based =D

you can grab a link to it HERE!